Vidhatri's Oasis
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Shades
“I am the king of the world”, I screamed at the top of my voice as I stood at the highest altitude I had ever reached in my life. I remember the hero of the movie “Titanic” screaming the same dialogue when he stood on the gigantic Titanic and looked around at the mighty sea around him. May be I shared the same feeling as his when I stood on one of the many bamboos that were fastened by ropes and firmly tied to the billboard that rested majestically on a 7 storey building. A sense of supremacy filled me as I looked down on all the ant sized people hurrying to nowhere and the miniature vehicles rushing through to catch up with life. The cauliflower sized trees seem to be presenting me a bouquet of greenery while the posh building envied me, seeing me enjoy the comfortable “risky” position I sat on. Yes risky, but I felt the risk was worth taking when I looked at the magic I created by turning the dull white painted rectangular piece to “full of life” painted billboards. While the shades I spread out on the billboard seem to speak out to every individual who glanced at them, the same shades seem to make even the “risk” factor in my work, playful.
Actors, Actresses, Villains, Comedians, Singers, Models, Directors, Producers, Products, brands, you name them and I have painted them on the billboards – my version of landscape. Every street, every highway or every road where the billboards I have painted stand are a testimony of the talent I possessed. My friends were always curious to know how I managed to see a postcard size photograph and paint an exact replica of that on a board that is thousand times larger then the snap. I just smiled back at them. But I knew how difficult it was to paint the expressions of an angry villain, a romantic hero or a beautiful heroine. This was a talent I felt proud to possess and blessed to be bestowed upon.
The “Venkateswaran Arts” office, the office where I work didn’t look the same today. I could see a lot of hustle bustle today. Everybody seems to be discussing something really serious. What happened? When I enquired the reason about this unusual atmosphere in the office, one of my colleagues pulled me out of the office and made me sit on the back seat of his bicycle and he rode towards the nearby main road. Where was he taking me? For what? I had no clue. All I could see is his worried face which was sweating profusely. He parked his bicycle near the platform of the main road and pointed his finger towards some object above. I lifted my head and looked at it and I was smiling at the new version of the billboard I was looking at. I could see a huge printed plastic sheet covering the billboard. I was so amazed at this new technology because we don’t have to paint billboard anymore. So, now any advertisement for a movie or a brand can be printed on a huge plastic sheet and just pinned on the billboard. That moment I didn’t realize the fear my colleagues were feeling because the advent of this new technology was a curse in disguise for us.
One by one I saw my colleagues who were painters like me getting laid off. No prior notice was given when they were laid off. Can’t blame my boss for that. What is the use of five painters like us when a “printed plastic sheet” can do the same job with greater quality and durability. I knew even my chance will come soon .One fine day, I found the accountant of our office settling my accounts and asking me to leave the job.
As I walked out of the office, I looked at my hands. These were the hands that possessed a skill which only few were gifted with. These were the hands that could paint any expression with ease. These were the hands which made voiceless colors; mute shades speak volumes to people who looked at them. Now the same hands have painted a big “question mark” in my life. I didn’t know where to go because I had a talent within me that had just cut me off from the only earning I had in my life.
By God’s grace I got a job of painting the walls and posters for an election campaign. I found myself painting the party’s name and their slogans for the elections. The same hands which once upon time had the liberty to play around with paints was now painting only with one shade of color filling in colors in symmetrical restricted boundary of alphabets. I looked at the alphabets I painted and realized that they were restricting my creative flow, I looked at the color I used which was stopping me from creating magic with different shades of color , in my hand I held a paint brush that brushed me away from the real me. No! I am not going to let this happen to me. I am not going to let myself surrender to circumstances. I am not going to allow fate to decide my life. I will fight. I am going to fight against circumstances, fight against fate, fight against reality and change circumstances the way I want it to be. I know it’s going to be difficult but it’s worth the fight.
With the fifty rupees I was paid for painting the lifeless alphabets, I rushed to a nearby stationary shop with a my heart echoing the words “Fight, Fight!” . I bought few A4 sheets and few colors pencil because I didn’t have the money to buy paints. I went to the famous beach in the city. This was a place where lots of people visited to beat the city’s heat. And this was the same place which I was hoping to change my fate. With the plain sheets and pencils in my hand I went to each and every one I saw in the beach and asked them “Sir, Are u interested to have your sketch drawn?” , “Madam, I can paint well .I can draw your sketch”, “Sister, I can draw your face. It’s just 50 rupees”. But, nobody seems to be interested .Everybody shooed me away, when I approached them. I was wandering in the beach for hours hoping at least somebody will be ready to have they sketch done. But no one was ready. Everybody looked at me as if I was a lunatic. Yes I am a lunatic… a lunatic who is crazy about the talent he has and is out there trying to fight against his fate.
That night I cried as my fate laughed at me. But I still could hear my heart say “Fight!Fight”. Suddenly, from no where an idea struck me. I immediately took out a plain sheet and the color pencils. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. I opened my eyes, took a pencil and in few minutes I managed to draw my portrait on the sheet. I rushed outside and glanced through the movie posters that were pasted on the walls. In next few minutes I found myself drawing a portrait of one of the most beautiful actress of our country just next to mine. When I was done, I looked at the final product. The complete sketch looked like a snap of mine taken while standing next to the beautiful actress. “This should work”, I thought.
Next day I hurried to the beach to catch hold of morning walkers. I saw a young guy jogging. I hurried towards him and said , “Sir, I can paint well. I can draw your face too. Look at this portrait.”, I showed the sketch I did last night. He looked at the sketch. My heart beat increased because he was the first person who cared to stop to hear what I said and I didn’t want let him go. “Can you sketch my face next to Aiyshwarya Rai’s face?”, the guy asked me with a puzzled look. “Sure, Sir. I can do that”, I responded quickly and completely excited. In next 1 hour I found a 50 rupee note in my hand given by the same guy. The first success in my struggled fight. Soon, my idea of drawing a person next to his/her favorite star became a hit. I found myself drawing n number of portraits the whole day. My hands were aching but I was enjoying the taste of my success. I was surprised when few people wanted me to draw their face with their favorite celebrity kissing them, hugging them. Their requests made me feel they were insane. But, then their insanity helped this “lunatic” to remain sane.
Soon, I found myself earning a decent amount to lead a comfortable life. I was getting popular with the regular beach goers and more popular with college groups. One such college group was so impressed with my work that they asked if I can come over for their inter collegiate fest and put up a stall and sell few of my painting. I agreed instantly. And soon I could see my creativity flow beyond the restricted boundary, coloring my life with different shades and my paint brush soon brushed away my meaningless past life.
Now I am faculty in an institute that specializes in arts and crafts. I teach students here painting, mainly painting face portraits. I was offered this job when one of the faculties of the institute saw my works in the college festival where I put up a stall. I remember my eyes were filled with tears when he offered me the job. Because the person was not offering me a job but he was offering me the liberty of recreating all the magic I did once. When I held my first salary of Rs 3500/- in my hands, I could see drops of tears falling on my hands ...the same hands which painted plethora of colorful shades of a rainbow in my stormy dark days.
Even today when I look at the portrait which I drew that night with the beautiful actress next to mine, I feel proud about myself…. Because I had won the battle against fate … Because I didn’t surrender to the circumstances … Because I am living a happy life which I had created…… Because at the end it was I who brought colorful shades in my life…Shades of self esteem … Shades of freedom..... Shades of confidence…which still makes the “lunatic” in me scream “I am the king of the world”.
Actors, Actresses, Villains, Comedians, Singers, Models, Directors, Producers, Products, brands, you name them and I have painted them on the billboards – my version of landscape. Every street, every highway or every road where the billboards I have painted stand are a testimony of the talent I possessed. My friends were always curious to know how I managed to see a postcard size photograph and paint an exact replica of that on a board that is thousand times larger then the snap. I just smiled back at them. But I knew how difficult it was to paint the expressions of an angry villain, a romantic hero or a beautiful heroine. This was a talent I felt proud to possess and blessed to be bestowed upon.
The “Venkateswaran Arts” office, the office where I work didn’t look the same today. I could see a lot of hustle bustle today. Everybody seems to be discussing something really serious. What happened? When I enquired the reason about this unusual atmosphere in the office, one of my colleagues pulled me out of the office and made me sit on the back seat of his bicycle and he rode towards the nearby main road. Where was he taking me? For what? I had no clue. All I could see is his worried face which was sweating profusely. He parked his bicycle near the platform of the main road and pointed his finger towards some object above. I lifted my head and looked at it and I was smiling at the new version of the billboard I was looking at. I could see a huge printed plastic sheet covering the billboard. I was so amazed at this new technology because we don’t have to paint billboard anymore. So, now any advertisement for a movie or a brand can be printed on a huge plastic sheet and just pinned on the billboard. That moment I didn’t realize the fear my colleagues were feeling because the advent of this new technology was a curse in disguise for us.
One by one I saw my colleagues who were painters like me getting laid off. No prior notice was given when they were laid off. Can’t blame my boss for that. What is the use of five painters like us when a “printed plastic sheet” can do the same job with greater quality and durability. I knew even my chance will come soon .One fine day, I found the accountant of our office settling my accounts and asking me to leave the job.
As I walked out of the office, I looked at my hands. These were the hands that possessed a skill which only few were gifted with. These were the hands that could paint any expression with ease. These were the hands which made voiceless colors; mute shades speak volumes to people who looked at them. Now the same hands have painted a big “question mark” in my life. I didn’t know where to go because I had a talent within me that had just cut me off from the only earning I had in my life.
By God’s grace I got a job of painting the walls and posters for an election campaign. I found myself painting the party’s name and their slogans for the elections. The same hands which once upon time had the liberty to play around with paints was now painting only with one shade of color filling in colors in symmetrical restricted boundary of alphabets. I looked at the alphabets I painted and realized that they were restricting my creative flow, I looked at the color I used which was stopping me from creating magic with different shades of color , in my hand I held a paint brush that brushed me away from the real me. No! I am not going to let this happen to me. I am not going to let myself surrender to circumstances. I am not going to allow fate to decide my life. I will fight. I am going to fight against circumstances, fight against fate, fight against reality and change circumstances the way I want it to be. I know it’s going to be difficult but it’s worth the fight.
With the fifty rupees I was paid for painting the lifeless alphabets, I rushed to a nearby stationary shop with a my heart echoing the words “Fight, Fight!” . I bought few A4 sheets and few colors pencil because I didn’t have the money to buy paints. I went to the famous beach in the city. This was a place where lots of people visited to beat the city’s heat. And this was the same place which I was hoping to change my fate. With the plain sheets and pencils in my hand I went to each and every one I saw in the beach and asked them “Sir, Are u interested to have your sketch drawn?” , “Madam, I can paint well .I can draw your sketch”, “Sister, I can draw your face. It’s just 50 rupees”. But, nobody seems to be interested .Everybody shooed me away, when I approached them. I was wandering in the beach for hours hoping at least somebody will be ready to have they sketch done. But no one was ready. Everybody looked at me as if I was a lunatic. Yes I am a lunatic… a lunatic who is crazy about the talent he has and is out there trying to fight against his fate.
That night I cried as my fate laughed at me. But I still could hear my heart say “Fight!Fight”. Suddenly, from no where an idea struck me. I immediately took out a plain sheet and the color pencils. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. I opened my eyes, took a pencil and in few minutes I managed to draw my portrait on the sheet. I rushed outside and glanced through the movie posters that were pasted on the walls. In next few minutes I found myself drawing a portrait of one of the most beautiful actress of our country just next to mine. When I was done, I looked at the final product. The complete sketch looked like a snap of mine taken while standing next to the beautiful actress. “This should work”, I thought.
Next day I hurried to the beach to catch hold of morning walkers. I saw a young guy jogging. I hurried towards him and said , “Sir, I can paint well. I can draw your face too. Look at this portrait.”, I showed the sketch I did last night. He looked at the sketch. My heart beat increased because he was the first person who cared to stop to hear what I said and I didn’t want let him go. “Can you sketch my face next to Aiyshwarya Rai’s face?”, the guy asked me with a puzzled look. “Sure, Sir. I can do that”, I responded quickly and completely excited. In next 1 hour I found a 50 rupee note in my hand given by the same guy. The first success in my struggled fight. Soon, my idea of drawing a person next to his/her favorite star became a hit. I found myself drawing n number of portraits the whole day. My hands were aching but I was enjoying the taste of my success. I was surprised when few people wanted me to draw their face with their favorite celebrity kissing them, hugging them. Their requests made me feel they were insane. But, then their insanity helped this “lunatic” to remain sane.
Soon, I found myself earning a decent amount to lead a comfortable life. I was getting popular with the regular beach goers and more popular with college groups. One such college group was so impressed with my work that they asked if I can come over for their inter collegiate fest and put up a stall and sell few of my painting. I agreed instantly. And soon I could see my creativity flow beyond the restricted boundary, coloring my life with different shades and my paint brush soon brushed away my meaningless past life.
Now I am faculty in an institute that specializes in arts and crafts. I teach students here painting, mainly painting face portraits. I was offered this job when one of the faculties of the institute saw my works in the college festival where I put up a stall. I remember my eyes were filled with tears when he offered me the job. Because the person was not offering me a job but he was offering me the liberty of recreating all the magic I did once. When I held my first salary of Rs 3500/- in my hands, I could see drops of tears falling on my hands ...the same hands which painted plethora of colorful shades of a rainbow in my stormy dark days.
Even today when I look at the portrait which I drew that night with the beautiful actress next to mine, I feel proud about myself…. Because I had won the battle against fate … Because I didn’t surrender to the circumstances … Because I am living a happy life which I had created…… Because at the end it was I who brought colorful shades in my life…Shades of self esteem … Shades of freedom..... Shades of confidence…which still makes the “lunatic” in me scream “I am the king of the world”.
posted by Vidhatri at 8:57 PM
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